All I want for Christmas...

I think you all know the lyric.

What a tangled web...

The boys' school hosted a vistiting artist a few weeks ago. Travis Meinolf is a young and hip weaver who brought his portable rigid heddle loom into the school. His home page actually shows a photo that was taken at the school and you can see him at the start of the project: the children brought in items to be woven into a hanging. The finished result included all sorts of materials, I saw leaves, wire, a serial cable, a slinky, phone cord and so on.

He was packing up his loom as I was collecting Finlay from school and Finlay insisted that I go and look at the weaving that the school had created. Both my boys were pretty excited by the project and we talked to Travis for a little while. He told us about the instructions on his website for making a loom out of cardboard and gave us a card loom that he has developed for use in schools.

We used both his card loom, and made our own out of card. This rather blurry photo shows the weaving process. We tied one end of the warp to the coffee table, and the other to a pencil. I held the ends firm while the boys used an elastic bodkin as a shuttle.

We used a variety of yarns for our weaving, but the best results were using Noro yarn for both warp and weft threads. Here are the bookmarks that the boys made:

They were really pleased with thier bookmarks, especially as they achieved pretty good results in a short time.

Castle Rock

I'm a little late in updating, but the final day out of our long weekend was to Castle Rock State Park. Adam and Nigel had visited previously on their backpacking trip, but it was the first time I had been there. It was an interesting mix of shady and wooded areas, with large boulders and trees covered in moss, and in the sunshine steep hills covered with manzanita.



We walked for about 1 hour 45 minutes, we got as far as the Goat Rock formation before turning back. We were rewarded by some great views across the coastal range hills. The trails were quite steep and required some scrambling, of course this added to the appeal for the boys.

There was only a little water in the Castle Rock falls (below) but we stopped for a while to listen to the water. Several groups of climbers arrived while we waited there to discuss a decent. On their last visit Adam was thrilled to watch climbers ascend this cliff.

We had a nice walk, and picnic, and made plans to come back to this park again, although I have not yet been convinced to hike to the campground there! It's so close to home, and a nice alternative to the redwood forests. The boys especially loved climbing on the big rocks.

A bike ride

After heavy rain Saturday night, Sunday looked to be a bright day, so we thought we would do a bike ride locally. We cycled into Campbell where there is a farmer's market on Sundays. (Somewhat like our own Farmer's market really) and where we ran into Lynne and Nathan.



It was a lovely clear day, not too hot and we stopped and had brunch before we come home. Finlay was particularly pleased to make it all the way there and back. It's a 7 mile round-trip from our house and the longest ride he has done on his own bike.

This is Adam - an action shot from my own bike (at considerable risk to life and limb!).

Out and About in Alameda

The boys have a few days off school making this a long weekend. We thought we would re-visit the USS Hornet. We last went there on my Father's 60th birthday (boy - does he know how to celebrate!!).

Anyway, it was a good place to visit with the boys. They were especially interested in the role the Hornet played in the Apollo missions.

Here they are walking in the footprints of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. We managed a tour of the flight deck, the hangar deck and some of the lower deck. There is a lot more restored since we last visited, but the best part is still the docents, who are largely veterans, many having served on the Hornet itself. They have the stories that really make a visit come to life.

After the Hornet we headed off the Naval base and towards Washington Park. We got on our bikes and headed off along Shoreline drive. There is a bike trail all along the beach.


There was a slight drizzle during the ride - but in this photo you can see Nigel and the boys on the bike trail, and in the distance, wreathed in mist, San Francisco.

We had not really seen anything of Alameda previously, apart from the Hornet, and it looked really nice. It was great to be able to ride alongside the beach and the whole area had a real vacation feel to it, rather like Bournemouth we thought!

On the needles: Retrofit

I've a new project on the needles. This is for Nigel who requested a jacket similar to my Ribby Cardi . Since it got cold here I've had quite a lot of wear from it. The pattern is Retrofit from Knitty.com.

Im going to knit the body in this red: Cascade 220 paints in colour 9926, and the sleeves and collar in Cascade 220 in grey (8400) which is left-over from my Loppem cardigan. This colour is apparently very hard to photograph as it's really not pink or purple at all - but a deep red.

I've already modified the pattern and am knitting a 2 x 2 rib in the body colour rather than a contrast folded hem. I've knitted more since I took this photo and am at the underarm decreases already. Hopefuly it will be a quick knit and he can have it before ski season, as requested.

Lying under the lizard

It's finished! Off the needles: Lizard Ridge.



I decided to stick at 24 squares and keep the blanket for use as a throw - or maybe in Adam's room when it gets cold. I knitted an i-cord edge in Mission Falls Dk weight wool in a dark olive green. The boys were sitting under half of the blanket watching Star Wars on Saturday while I finished the edge.

I really enjoyed knitting this - and it was much quicker than I expected. The squares mostly could be finished in a couple of hours of knitting. It took me 3 evenings to seam it and about the same to knit the i-cord edge. I decided to sew the squares alternating the direction of the pattern, ie sewed each 'strip' with the same direction, but alternated the direction of the pattern when sewing the strips together. This gave a more patchwork look rather than the wavy pattern continuing across the blanket.

I managed to get most of the Kureyon with some discount or other. I used 22 balls, two of the squares were patched together from left-overs. I had plenty of wool left over and could have made up more squares - but my colour combinations just were not as nice as the Noro ones so I decided it was worth buying the additional balls...Im sure I''ll find a use for Kureyon scraps sooner or later.

Trick or Treat

Well, these pictures are from Halloween - but the title might well refer to the results of today's election.


The boys wore the skeleton costumes they made last year. This year they are posing in our garden...we got some new Halloween decorations because the boys complained that all our decorations were smiling and not scary.

Here they are with their swag...before the usual candy-for-lego exchange!

Off the needles: Loppem

I finished Loppem this week and wore it today to the school Halloween party. (Hence the too-small orange top).


On the whole I am pretty pleased with it. The yoke/front does not seem to sit quite right in these pictures, but I think it's mostly to do with how I'm standing. I'm also sure it would look better with a different top underneath, maybe a roll-neck. However, the weight is perfect for a Californian winter...where it never really gets cold enough for 'heavy duty' knitwear.

I obtained a 2nd edition of the Norah Gaughan Vol 3 book, without the errors that apparently plague the 1st edition. I found the pattern easy enough and quick to knit. I used Cascade 220 from my stash, just over 3 skeins I think. The buttons are pewter globe buttons from Green Planet Yarns in Cambell. I didn't make any modifications to the pattern, although I did knit it 4" longer than specified from hem to sleeves. I have 6.5 repeats of the cable pattern. If I were knitting this again I might also make the purl rows on the hem into a larger hem of garter stitch. The back of the top rolled like mad and I had to steam the living daylights out of it to get it to lay flat. The sleeves didnt seem to have the same problem.

Happy Halloween

Adam's is on the top step, Finlay's the bottom step. Finlay also decorated the pumpkin with the dangly spider

Mind the Gap

He is very pleased as he considers this a sign that he is all grown up.

On the needles: Loppem

I have been waiting for Yarndogs to get a copy of Berocco's Norah Gaughan Vol 3 to cast on my new project. It is Loppem by Norah Gaughan.



I am knitting it in Cascade 220 which I had bought a couple of years ago to make sweaters for the boys, before the realization that handwashing sweaters for my own wee hooligans would not be the best idea. I, by contrast, don't tend to get my clothes actually dirty very often so handwashing is not a problem. I had seen a sleeveless waistcoat in the shops in the UK and this is my alternative...the one in the shop (Fat Face) was grey, so this had to be grey also.

I seem to have acquired a 2nd edition of the book, which looking at the errata and comments on Ravelry, is a good thing.

Last of the Lizard

I knitted the last of my 24 Lizard Ridge squares recently. Here they are washed and pressed...


ready to be laid our into a suitable patchwork..

...and then for the task of seaming and knitting the edging. I have chosen an olive green colour as the edge as I thought that would best tone with the mixture of blues, greens, and browns, as well as the more brightly coloured squares.

Glamour - I has it!

I finished my turban. Here I am posing in front of our 1946 poster exhorting americans to buy war bonds. The poster is the same age as our house - and not far off the date of the pattern.



The pattern is this one from the V&A knitting pattern collection. Christina, of course, has an original version of the pattern...but as it happened I knitted it from the pdf on the museum web site.

The yarn is Jojoland melody, and the hat took 1.5 balls. I knitted it on 3.25mm needles. The only modification to the pattern was to knit only 9 of the 10 short-row sections on the cap, and actually it would fit me better if I had knitted only 8 of them.

I am pretty sure I will actually wear this hat: the colours, and I think the style suit me. I am wearing it quite far back on my head in these photos but it also pulls down over the ears and the bandeau is warm over the ears.... ideal for skiing.

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this; it was quick but an interesting knit and I'm pleased with the outcome. Please do not tell me that I look like Ena Sharples ...she wore a hairnet!

What am I knitting?

I've cast on for this: vintage knitting pattern and I'm knitting the one on the right... I think i'm going to look very modish in it.

Run! not walk

The school held it's annual Fun Walk last week, and of course both boys participated this year:

Adam walked aand ran 3.25 miles in an hour, and Finlay managed 17 laps of a much shorter track. Both had a great time!

The best part...Sharky (local hockey team mascot) came to cheer them along!

Camping with the scouts

This weekend was the first scout camp for our new scout. We all went along to Sunset State Beach with about 20 other families.

The location was lovely, the campground is actually on sandy dunes behind the beach, so is sheltered from most of the wind, but close enough so we could hear the waves crashing on the shore.

Adjacent to the group camp site was a large area of trees and scrub, ideal for small boys rampaging around building camps, and traps, and climbing trees.



While we were there Adam did his frisbee badge!



Naturally there was also a barbeque and camp fire, compete with smores and campfire songs. Finlay is now word-perfect in "Take me down to the ball game"...so he's all set for next year when he can join cub scouts.

Not only did I get a chance to sit by the camp fire and knit - but I met another knitter!

Altho it rained on Saturday morning, by the time we got to the site it had cleared and the weather stayed fine for the rest of the weekend.

Smell this!

It rained this weekend for the first time since about April. The garden smelled lovely in the morning; so clean and fresh.



Not such great timing for the scout camp however!

Checking in

Well, I dont seem to have written for a while, but mostly because I'm not doing anything exciting or knitting anything new. (Like the rest of this blog represents wild thrills!). So while I'm checking in I thought I'd share the new check-in system that Finlay has going in his bedroom:

This chart is for signing in and out, it's stuck to the back of his door. I don't believe he is using this as rigorously as he said he would!

These are the access passes: green if you want to go outside, and brown to stay in the house. You will notice these have a nominal value of $100...and he is obviously anticipating a large demand...there are about 20 of these.

I forsee a career in the civil service for my boy!

Flossie's socks

After seeing my knitting socks for the boys, Flossie took the opportunity to persuade her mother to knit socks for her. After nearly a year Julie decided that sock knitting was not for her and handed them over to me to finish.



The yarn is the very pretty Regia 4-fadig color in colour 5025. Regular sock recipe knitted on 2.25mm needles over 48 stitches.

A brand new...

...wolf cub.


Adam joined the boy scouts this week. He had been about to burst with excitement before the first meeting, and was constantly taking every opportunity to point out ways in which he was already acting like a boy scout.

Today the local pack did a fund-raising popcorn sale outside a local supermarket. Adam went along for one shift and had, apparently, a wonderful time. Now he is counting the days until the first scout camping trip.

Lizard progress

I have continued to work on my lizard ridge patches. I am loving how the colours develop through the pattern.

I have 16 squares done out of 24 required. I have 4 balls of Kureyon left and I think I will also make some patched out of the scraps from the other squares. It's nice mindless knitting, but with the short-row pattern being enough to keep my attention. I can do a square an evening, so progress is pretty quick...but I dont want to finish this just yet so will be starting another project shorly.

The first in our new series: Large Vegetables

These came in the farm box this week - the boys though they were hilarious!

Yoda hat: more of the same (and pattern)

There is no point having a mother who knits, if she can't knit you both Yoda hats...




Knitted Yoda Hat
Finished size: 18-21” stretched to fit child or small adult (fits me!)
Gauge: 22 sts/4” on 4.5mm dpn or circulars
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool DK in Shade 020
Quantity: 1 ball (125m /126 yards)



Hat:
Cast on 88 stitches and join to knit in the round.
K2p2 rib for 1.5”
Knit every round for ½”
Knitting the forehead wrinkles - this is “freeform” . I knitted 3 ridges as follows:
Row1 and 2: purl 22 stitches knit rest of round
Row 3 and 4: knit round
Row 5 and 6: knit 2 purl 18 knit 2, knit rest of round
Row 7 and 8: knit round
Row 9 and 10: purl 22 stitches, knit rest of round
Knit all rounds until hat measures 5” (more if you have a bigger head!)
Start decreases as follows:
Row 1: (k9 k2tog) repeat
Row 2: knit
Row 3: (k8 k2tog) repeat
Row 4: knit
Row 5: (k7 k2tog) repeat
Row 6: knit
Row 7: (k6 k2tog) repeat
Row 8: Knit
Row 9: (k5 k2tog) repeat
Row 10: (k4 k2tog) repeat
Row 11: (k3 k2tog) repeat
Row 12: k2tog repeat
Row 13: k2tog break yarn and thread through remaining stitches. Secure.




Ears - Knit 2 the same. Following a suggestion of some of the knitters I knit the latest ears with the yarn held double which made them stiffer:
Cast on 11 stitches leaving approx 12” tail.
Knit every stitch working back and forth.
Knit 3 rows
Next row increase by knitting into the front and back of the first and last stitch
Knit 1 row
Next row increase by knitting into the front and back of the first and last stitch (15 stitches)
Knit 7 rows
Decreases as follows:

1. Knit 6 k2tog knit 7 (14)
2. knit
3. Knit 6 k2tog knit 6 (13
4. knit
5. Knit 5 k2tog knit 6 12
6. knit
7. Knit 5 k2tog knit 5 11
8. knit
9. Knit 4 k2tog knit 5 10
10. knit
11. knit
12. Knit 4 k2tog knit 4 9
13. knit
14. knit
15. Knit 3 k2tog knit 4 8
16. knit
17. knit
18. Knit 3 k2tog knit 3 7
19. knit
20. knit
21. Knit 2 k2tog knit 3 6
22. knit
23. knit
24. Knit 2 k2tog knit 2 5
25. knit
26. knit
27. knit
28. Knit 1 k2tog knit 2 4
29. knit
30. knit
31. knit
32. Knit 1 k2tog knit 1 3
33. knit
34. knit
35. knit
36. Knit 1 k2tog
37. k2tog break thread and draw through stitch to secure. Hide thread by weaving through purl bumps

Finishing
Weave in ends.
Use cast-on thread from ears to secure to hat at sides. I sewed the ears with a slight fold so that the top of the ear was slightly forward of the bottom of the ear to create a floppy appearance.

May the Force be with you.

If anyone knits one of these I would be interested to hear about it!

The hat: finished it is

Following extensive preparation during Clone Wars, and various viewings of the Star Wars DVDs, I have finished the Yoda hat. Here is Finlay being like Yoda...


I made up the pattern, and it took me one afternoon and evening to knit it - which is good as I have at least one more in my future!

Its knitted in 4.5mm needles in Rowan Pure Wool DK in shade 20. The hat took 1 ball with a few yards remaining.

So, now to cast on number 2!

Lurid socks

Very lurid socks for Finlay. The usual recipe with a rib cuff and plain feet. The yarn is Regia 4-fach Ringel color in shade 5048. I got this at the yarn swap with the Knitting Meetup.

Despite it being over 95 degrees outside Finlay is insisting on wearing them!

End of summer

We had friends over for a BBQ so the boys made lemonade with the last of our lemons.



I still can't get over having my own lemon tree - there was one outside the rental I lived in when I first came the the US and it seemed so exotic. I had tried to grow citrus in my conservatory when I lived in the UK but never with any success - so was thrilled to find a tree loaded with lush lemons in arms reach of my porch. When we bought this house almost the first thing we did was plant a lemon tree and an orange. The lemon is doing better and we get a reasonable crop these days so I almost never have to buy a lemon.

Klaralund complete

I finished my Klaralund sweater and I thinkI'm more pleased with this than I have been with any sweater for a while. Of course the lovely Silk Garden yarn helps, but the fit and style of this make it a really wearable garment...or at least I think it will be wearable once fall arrives here!


I started knitting this in the UK on vacation, and had finished the knitting before I came back - so total knitting time less than a month. I lightly steam pressed the pieces before sewing it together. Although the knitting is mostly stockinette I dont seem to get bored of knitting it in the lovely colours. The sides have actually matched up pretty well although I made no effort to match them. I did have concerns about the horizontal stripes, but I chose a more delicate colour of the Silk Garden to minimize the stripiness, and I think that worked well.

Details: The pattern is Klaralund from the Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Book Number 2. The pattern comes with an errata which I found rather confusing because although there are additional sizes, they are replacements for the original sizes rather than additions. I actually knitted a combination of the 41" and 42" sizes. The pattern is really straightforward and easily lends itself to modifications.

The yarn is Silk Garden in colour 268 and used a tad over 11 balls (rather than the 12 called for in the pattern). I seamed with sock yarn as the Silk Garden is rather breakable. I spit spliced the joins so no ends to weave in.

A resounding thumbs-up for this sweater.

A ride in the woods

Over the long weekend we discovered a new (to us) bike trail. We drove out to Pescadero Creek State Park and rode the Old Haul Road Trail.

The trail is an old logging road that runs five miles between Portola Redwoods State Park and Pescadero Creek Park. The trail is quite hilly and we made it half-way there before turning back. When I say "hilly" I mean for small boys who found it rather hard work, we had to walk up quite a lot of the uphill grades, but they did enjoy the downhills!

The trail is shady and was pretty cool, we didnt see much wildlife, but given the noise the boys make that is probably not surprising! There was not much other traffic on the trail.

The whole area was logged until the mid-1970s and there is a lot of evidence of logging.

On the way back we stopped at one of the view points off Skyline:

A large part of the area off the West side of Skyline Blvd is Open Space preserve, and various state parks.